Insect swatters are well known in the art to comprise an elongate handle with either a planar striking head or a brush-like striking head made up of a host of individual tines. Examples of the former are U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,242,828 to Schurger, et al. and 2,963,816 to De Miller. It has been recognized in the art that insect swatters with these planar striking surfaces are difficult to utilize in killing insects on irregular surfaces. For example, the relatively large, planar surface is almost impossible to utilize in killing insects in the corner of a window sill. Another drawback associated with such insect swatters is that application of the swatter striking surface to an insect resting on a surface compresses the insect so as to cause lateral expulsion of the insect bodily fluids, commonly known as squishing. Squishing the insect causes unsightly and unsanitary staining of both the swatter striking surface and the surface on which the insect was resting prior to being swatted.
In addition to insect swatters with a planar swatting surface, the prior art discloses swatters with a plurality of elongated flexible tines having one end secured to one end of the handle. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 552,703 to Burrowes; 395,022 to Wells; 648,794 and 644,303 to Rice; 161,870 to Dorrison; and 3,905,146 to Ralston. It is recognized that this type of swatter allows killing of insects on irregular surfaces, such as corners. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,120,115 to Mushkin, Col. 1, lines 8-18. This type of swatter, however, exacerbates the squishing problem. The planar striking surface type swatters tend to distribute the striking force over the entire surface of the insect. On the other hand, the individual tine of the brush-type swatter concentrates the force on an isolated area of the insect, increasing the likelihood of rupture of the insect body and expulsion of the insect bodily fluids. As a result, the insect tends to become adhered either to the surface upon which it was resting prior to being struck or to the tines of the brush-type swatter.
It is therefore recognized in the art that there exists a need for an insect swatter capable of killing insects on irregular, as well as regular surfaces and minimizing the lateral expulsion of insect bodily fluids.